Friday, June 30, 2017

Battle of Malvern Hill was bloody day for members of the Conecuh Guards

Saturday marks the 155th anniversary of one of
the deadliest days of the Civil War for the Conecuh Guards, the Confederate
military company from Conecuh County.

It was on July 1, 1862 that 55,000 Confederate soldiers
under the command of General Robert E. Lee collided with 54,000 Union soldiers
under the command of generals George B. McClellan and Fitz John Porter at the
Battle of Malvern Hill in Henrico County, Va. From a tactical standpoint, this
battle resulted in a Union victory and was costly for Co. E of the 4th
Alabama Infantry Regiment. Also known as the “Conecuh Guards,” this unit was
organized at Sparta on April 1, 1861.

At the Battle of Malvern Hill, estimated casualties on both
sides amounted to around 8,650 and at least four members of the Conecuh Guards
were among those killed and wounded.

According to B.F. Riley’s 1881 book, “The History of Conecuh
County, Alabama,” two members of the Conecuh Guards were killed at the Battle
of Malvern Hill – John Arthur Hodo and Emanuel Johnston. Two other members of
the Conecuh Guards were wounded there – Capt. William Lee and 19-year-old
Gilchrist R. Boulware.

So far, I haven’t been able to dig up any information about
how Hodo and Johnston were killed but, interestingly, you can visit Hodo’s
grave today in Virginia. Although the 30-year-old Hodo was killed on July 1,
his remains weren’t finally buried until Aug. 18, 1862 when he was laid to rest
in the Soldiers Section of the Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Va.

Johnston was also buried in the Soldiers Section of the
Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, but they have him incorrectly listed as Emanuel
Johnson (without the “t). According to cemetery records, his remains were
finally buried on July 27, 1862, that is, over three weeks after his death at
the Battle of Malvern Hill.

As things turned out, Capt. William Lee, who’d been wounded
five days before at the First Battle of Cold Harbor, would not survive the war.
Almost a year to the day after the Battle of Malvern Hill, Lee was mortally
wounded on the second day of the epic Battle of Gettysburg while fighting in
McLaw’s Brigade in Hood’s Division. He died the following day. He was later
laid to rest in Elmwood Cemetery in Birmingham.

Capt. Lee was apparently so well respected and highly regard
that years later, when Confederate veterans in Conecuh County formed a United
Confederate Veterans Camp, they named it Camp Capt. William Lee in his honor.

Boulware survived the war and is arguably one of the most
colorful men to have ever lived in Conecuh County. Born near Brooklyn on Aug.
15, 1842, Boulware entered Confederate service as a private when the Conecuh
Guards were organized in April 1861. On Dec. 13, 1862, five months after the
Battle of Malvern Hill, Boulware was serving as the Color Sergeant for the
Fourth Alabama Infantry Regiment when he was wounded at the Battle of
Fredericksburg, Va.

Jump ahead to Sept. 19, 1863, and Boulware, who was still
the Regiment’s Color Sergeant, was severely wounded in the side and in the arm
at the Battle of Chickamauga in northwest Georgia. Even though Boulware’s left
arm had to be amputated at Chickamauga, his service didn’t end there for on
Jan. 11, 1864 (less than four months later), Boulware began working for the
Confederate Secret Service Department, serving in this clandestine organization
until the end of the war in 1865.

After the war, Boulware returned home to Conecuh County and
became a productive citizen. He also became very active in veterans affairs. He
served as the commander of Camp Capt. William Lee of the United Confederate
Veterans for a number of years, including 1908, 1912, 1913, 1915, 1916. Wounded
at least three times during the Civil War, Boulware outlived most of his
comrades, having passed away at the age of 80 on Sept. 21, 1922. He is buried
in the cemetery at Brooklyn Baptist Church.